November 22, 2010

Flour Power

Guess what I have in my hot little hands? A copy of Joanne Chang’s recently released, much-anticipated cookbook, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Café. I think I can speak for all of Boston when I say, yahoooooooo!!!! Or whatever the hip, young people are saying these days. W00t?

I have a soft spot for Flour Bakery having worked in the vicinity of the South End for several years. I had a friend from culinary school who was employed there when it first opened and so I was treated to a mini-tour. The space was not large—the tour took about two minutes, but it was just as charming as you might expect: heavy-duty mixers running at full throttle, neat, young apprentices painting things with chocolate, the smell of fresh baked bread warming the morning air. Joanne was always as sweet as could be, odd given that new bakery businesses require early mornings and long hours. Must have been all the sugar coursing through her veins. Since then, two other Flour outposts have been opened in the Fort Point Channel (well, not actually in the channel) and Central Square. Chang’s talents are also on display at Myers + Chang, the Asian diner she opened in the South End with her husband Christopher Myers.

This cookbook is substantial, heavy with the calories of nearly 150 of Chang’s favorite recipes. Much has been made of her sticky buns, which emerged victorious when pitted against Bobby Flay’s version on the Food Network’s Throwdown! Don’t worry—her secrets are well documented here. So are scrumptious recipes for éclairs, cream-filled doughnuts, focaccia, croissants, brioche, tarts, muffins, cakes, and cookies galore. I hope you like butter!

Chronicle Books was kind enough to send me two copies of this cookbook. However, I’m keeping one for myself since the library says I need to give their copy back. So, I’m raffling off one copy to a lucky reader. Actually, we’re doing the raffle thing differently this time. I’m going to pick the winner based on my favorite comment instead of leaving it up to random chance. This blog is the only power I have and I’m going to wield it like a despot. If I can’t decide between several excellent comments, I’ll randomly select a name from within that group with my iron fist briefly unclenched. But only briefly. To be considered, please leave a comment about a memorable experience you had at Flour or a story that revolves around something delicious you ate from Flour or, failing that, a story about flour. I realize this gives local people an edge, but I figure those of you who know the bakery well will enjoy this book the most. As a consolation prize for the rest of you losers, I’ll post a recipe from the book when I post the winner later this week.

My relationship with Flour is sadly limited to the few times I can expand my weekly routine to the South End. Though rumors have been floating of a closer location in Cambridge. (Okay, I know, it's been open for, like, a year or so now... my bad.) BUT. When my pastry-chef recent-grad sis was in town a few years back and considering job prospects in the industry, an acquaintance who knows Joanne was able to set up a sweet (ha, no pun intended) behind-the-scenes tell-all of how they run the bakery. Maybe it wasn't as juicy as that sounds, but how cool that the staff took time out of their hectic day to show us how it all works at Flour? :-)

I've never been to or heard of Flour. But over the last 4 months I've probably used 80 pounds of flour. I've been baking all of our bread, at least once/week, sometimes twice. So much fun! Well, and I've been baking lots of other stuff too, most recently a horse cake for my son's 3rd b-day this weekend.

One of my best friends got married at the Park Plaza. As that sentence suggests, I was in the wedding party, and therefore was at the rehearsal dinner the night before the ceremony. After we got through the walkthrough and the dinner itself, I was getting ready to leave and paused to ask her if there was anything she needed before the ceremony. She stared blankly at me (as is traditional for brides, she was semi-hysterical by this point in the preparations) and then said "breakfast."

This is how, on her wedding day, I ended up standing in line at Flour with her groom-to-be and his best man, waiting for the doughnuts. Best wedding present ever? I think it's a worthy submission.

Like Lena's friend, I got married at the Park Plaza. To get my husband-to-be out of my hair while I was, er, getting my hair done, I sent him and the best man to Flour for egg sandwiches (with applewood-smoked bacon, not ham!), sugar brioche buns, and those ambrosial slices of twice-baked brioche with sliced almonds glazed to the crust for all of us.

It took so long to get my hair and makeup done that I was late for the pre-wedding pictures and became convinced that the groom would no longer want to marry me. Fortunately, the best man had kept him entertained, and he was well-fueled for the wait.

I guess the best way to live happily ever after is to start the day happy.

I once had such a craving for their perfect chocolates cupcakes, my sweet husband actually called ahead to make them save their last one for me until we got there. I had no idea you could call ahead a cupcake...I think I'd give up my first child for one of those cupcakes and their BLT.

My husband moved to Boston in August and I am still in LA. Read about the bakery before the move even occurred and just had to visit. (And what a coincidence, my dessert company is called Flour Girl Desserts!) LOVED IT!! And love everything I read about Joanne...I am now a groupie. Can't figure out if my husband got that job offer just so I could go to Flour...very serendipitous!

I lived on Flour's street for 2 years. It was my first meal in my new apartment (BLT with raspberry seltzer) and I think my fiance and I used to go there at least once a week. Now I'm in Worcester for medical school, and I am so depressed, but still try and get out there at least once a month. I love their donuts, the pop tarts, almond brioche, egg sandwich, tomato basil pocket, peanut butter cookies (uh, I think I've been there way too much). I hate that I can't walk down there anymore, but the cookbook would be second best! Also, I am a poor med student! That is all!

Some people trek from all around the world to Boston to run in the Marathon. I hopped on a plane from Vancouver to Boston so that I could get my hands on a sticky bun. That and a tour of Flour Bakery made my day - those memories 'stick to me' like the caramel on those famous sticky buns. Yum.
I still have one in my freezer in case I need to know what the real one looks like.
Don't worry, I don't plan on eating it, no matter how tempting it looks.

As a young teen I used to bake bread, cookies, cakes, rolls, everything. And then I stopped. I've been seeing this book all over the internets. I think a book this good would get me baking again and buying flour in bulk.
Love your writing!

Oh wowza! I have never been to Flour...but I was so excited by your post that I Google-mapped it immediately and figured out that the South End location is precisely a 13 minute walk from where I work. (Cue chorus of angels - AHHHHH-HHHAAAAA-HHHHAAAAA!)

I will go...I promise! Even if you don't give me the book. (*COUGH* Which you totally should).

No, really, give me the book!

Maybe if you do give me the book, I will thank you with delicious baked goods in return.

Or maybe I will just run away with the book and bake things all for myself, leaving my husband, you and every one else behind in a trail of cocoa powder dust!

Let's just say that when I first learned about Flour bakery many years ago, I was determined to find it and see what the hype was all about. I am navigationally impaired and trying to drive around Boston and actually trying to find the place was unsuccessful (yes, I am that bad with directions). I've ended up in totally wrong places like Brookline and somewhere in the South End but I think it was more South Shore. Needless to say, I'm still trying to find it. At this rate, it may be another 10 years before I actually find the place. I think I'll have better luck actually baking stuff from her book than finding the bakery.